Changes in Farm Management and Agricultural Activities and Their Effect on Farmers' Satisfaction from Land Consolidation: The Case of Bursa–Karacabey, Turkey

Abstract

In Turkey, the scattered, fragmented plots in agricultural areas are one of the major problems preventing agricultural efficiency. Land consolidation is an effective tool in improving efficiency, but the success depends greatly on farmers' satisfaction and adoption. Therefore, determination of issues important to farmers can positively influence future land consolidation projects. As such, land consolidation studies must be accelerated and extended nationwide in countries where land fragmentation is common and rural development is essential. This study determined the effects of changes in farm structures and agricultural activities on satisfaction with land consolidation. Nine villages in the Bursa -Karacabey (Turkey) plain irrigation area were selected as study sites, and the logit model was used to analyse survey data including 190 respondents. Our results indicate that farmers' age (AGE), easiness in crop pattern planning (CRPT), reduction in distance between farmstead centre and plots (DFCP), reduction in time consumed in accessing the plots (TIMES) and improvement in working conditions in the fields (WORC) significantly affected the satisfaction with land consolidation. All of these factors except farmers' age (AGE) are related to consolidation of scattered, fragmented and tiny parcels into larger plots with suitable shape and size for agriculture. Consolidation also increased production and further improved working conditions.

Land consolidation in Cyprus: Why is an Integrated Planning and Decision Support System required?

“…Land fragmentation is also evident in many areas throughout the world: for example, in South Asia (Niroula and Thapa, 2005), China (Nguyen et al, 1996;Wan and Cheng, 2001;Shuhao, 2005;Tan et al, 2006), Turkey (Yaslioglu et al, 2009), USA (Soltow, 1983;Verry, 2001;Brabec and Smith, 2002;Kjelland et al, 2007), India (Ram et al, 1999;Sengupta, 2006), Israel (Falah, 1992, Jordan (Jabarin and Epplin, 1994), Peru (Goland, 1993) and Syria (AbdelaliMartini et al, 2003). Based on FAO statistics from 1986 to 2004, the smallest average holding size is found in Asian and African countries where, in 20 out of 24 and 16 out of 20 countries respectively, it is less than 5 hectares (ha).…”

Arazi̇ Toplulaştirma Projeleri̇nde Mülakat Çalişmalarinin Önemi̇

“…Land consolidation is the most effective method to solve the land fragmentation problem in many countries of the world (Crecente et al 2002, Derlich 2002, Magel 2003, Van Dijk 2003, Thomas 2004, Van Dijk 2007, Sklenicka 2006, Thomas 2006, Yaslioglu et al 2008, 2009, Arıcı and Akkaya Aslan, 2014 is also an important tool of rural development which aims to improve the production in agriculture and to improve the parcel shapes and to provide agricultural infrastructure services,…”

“…Arazi toplulaştırması, arazi parçalılık sorununu çözmek için dünyanın birçok ülkesinde uygulanan en etkili yöntem olup (Crecente ve vd 2002, Derlich 2002, Magel 2003, Van Dijk 2003, Thomas 2004, Van Dijk 2007, Sklenicka 2006, Thomas 2006, Yaslıoglu ve vd 2008, 2009 Akkaya Aslan, 2014), aynı zamanda tarımda üretimi artırmak ve kırsal kesimde yaşayanların refahını sağlamak için parsel şekillerini düzeltmeyi ve yol, sulama ve drenaj sistemleri başta olmak üzere tarımsal alt yapı hizmetlerini götürmeyi hedefleyen kırsal gelişmenin önemli bir aracıdır (Çay ve vd 2010, Arıcı ve Akkaya Aslan 2014).…”

Mapping Cropping Practices on a National Scale Using Intra-Annual Landsat Time Series Binning

“…Turkey has been, and is, undergoing policy-driven agricultural intensification. In this context, land consolidation efforts increased productivity by reducing parcel fragmentation across the country [42], and the expansion of irrigation infrastructure fostered regional development through increased agricultural production [43]. On the one hand, these policies boosted crop production over decades, ranking Turkey amongst the world's leading producers of cereals and other industrial crops [44].…”